Consumer and Community Engagement Unit Update

Issue 26 – August 2017

Consumer & Community Newsletter

Consumer and Community Engagement Unit

Including the consumer voice in organisation-wide decisions requires

consumers knowing the intent, purpose and expectations of the issue

under consideration at a meeting. Intent and purpose of meetings is

often shaped in the terms of reference but at other times these aspects

are driven by an unspoken or informal meeting culture. It is important for

consumers to allocate some time working with the chair, other members

or me to learn about the intent and purpose.

No matter the intent or purpose of the meeting a consumer

representative’s role in committees is to ask critical questions; to be a

little curious like Alice in Wonderland. But curiosity needs a little restraint

because it can easily come across as being judgmental. You can remain constructively critical

in meetings by basing your questions around three key themes: learning, agility and

innovation.

In learning, you want to gather information and an outline the steps that the organisation is

taking to continuously learn and maintain expertise. You are also focusing on how the

organisation has applied reflective practice from incidents, processes or risks which have been

evaluated.

In agility, you test the strength of the organisation to respond to emerging trends, evolving

technology and change management processes. A health organisation needs to be thinking of

the steps it will or would likely take to adapt to unexpected phenomena.

In innovation you want to assess the organisation’s ability to forecast, think ahead and be

creative. Innovation takes many forms from advancing how things are communicated to the

adoption of new-age technology infrastructure or biotechnology.

In August, the Network will pause to celebrate the innovation in practice contributing to a culture

of person and family centred care at the 2017 WCHN Service Excellence Awards. Three

programs from the Consumer and Community Engagement Unit have been selected as finalists;

The Volunteer Guide Team, School Ambassador Program and Consumer Coffee Club. Well

done to all involved, particularly Tara and Sharon who have built the Consumer Coffee Club

from scratch as an authentic consumer led quality improvement activity.

Reflecting on what is working well and celebrating achievements bolsters a sense of pride and

ultimately encourages everyone to wonder about the possibilities. At the core of the awards is

the consumer experience and ensuring that the partnerships and engagement afford the best

care to every individual and family every time.

You are all invited as consumer representatives and community members to attend the awards

presentation. Winners will be announced at the awards presentation ceremony at the Adelaide

Oval on Friday, 11 August 2017 from 6.30pm -10.30pm. The event will be a cocktail party with

finger food and beverages. Tickets are $25 per person and can be booked through Eventbrite.

Tickets for finalists are free and will be sent directly to all finalists.

Allan J Ball

Director, Consumer and Community Engagement

NOTICEBOARD Save these dates! August 2017

1 August newsletter launched.

1-9 Safety and Quality Strategic Plan consultation. Online and in-real-life (Café Level 2,

7:30am–7:30pm).

1 Person and Family Centred Care Network

Steering Group.

Members only. Alan Crompton

Board Room, WCH Campus.

9am–11am.

3 Consumer Surveying on experience. WCHN Campus. 11am–1pm.

Children’s Wards.

4 WCHN Citizen Jury: Family Support.

Members only. Executive

Boardroom, WCH Campus.

11am–1pm.

7 WCHN Health Literacy Committee. Members only. Room 201, WCH

Campus. 11am–12:30pm.

9 Birthing Stories Launch.

All invited. Alan Crompton Board

Room, WCH Campus. 2pm-3pm.

RSVP to Tessa.

10 Roving Consumer Coffee Club. 10am–11:30am. WCH Campus.

10 Consumer Surveying on experience. WCHN Campus. 11am–1pm.

Children’s Surgery Wards.

11 WCHN Service Excellence Awards. All Invited. 6pm, Adelaide Oval.

$25 per ticket. RSVP to Allan.

14 Consumer and Volunteer Orientation.

RSVP Required. Alan Crompton

Board Room, WCH Campus.

9am–1pm.

17 Consumer Surveying on experience. WCHN Campus. 11am–1pm.

Women’s Wards.

18 Trauma Informed Care Consumer Training. RSVP required. Yarrow Place

Meeting Room. 10am–12pm.

21-25 Youth, Women’s Wellbeing and Safety Services Divisional Listening Post Week.

24 Consumer Surveying on experience. WCHN Campus. 11am–1pm.

Children’s Wards.

24 Consumer Coffee Club. 10am–11:30am Café Level 2,

WCH Campus.

25 Consumer and Community Partnering Council.

Members Only. Executive

Boardroom, WCH Campus.

11am–1pm.

31 Youth Communications Committee. Members Only. Allan’s Office,

WCH Campus. 3:30pm–4:30pm.

EDUCATION & CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

Consumer and Volunteer Orientation

An introduction to your role as a Consumer Representative to the Network.

You will hear from guest speakers relating to consumer engagement, Aboriginal Cultural

Respect, Fire Safety, Child Safety Awareness and Infection Control.

Consumer ID badges will be processed on the day.

When: 8:55am-1:00pm, Monday 14 August 2017

Where: Alan Crompton Board Room, WCH Campus. Gather at Allan’s Office at 8:50am.

RSVP: 10 August to Allan.

You will be reimbursement for your time attending.

Trauma Informed Care Training

A two hour masterclass introducing consumer representatives and volunteers of the Network to

the principles of trauma informed care. Open to all.

When: 10am-12pm, Friday 18 August 2017

Where: Yarrow Place Meeting Room. Gather at Allan’s Office at 9:50am.

RSVP: 10 August to Allan.

You will be reimbursed for your time attending.

Consumer Training Calendar 2017

Full 2017 training calendar is available on the web. Check it out.

Grand Rounds (Lecture series on innovation, health and

research)

All consumer representatives signed up to the database have access to the weekly Grand

Rounds.

A Grand Round is a lecture series that provides WCHN staff with education on a range of health

topics relating to our core business.

They are held every Wednesday in the WCH Queen Victoria Lecture Theatre from 12pm–

1:30pm.

This is a voluntary task that consumer representatives can opt in to attending. Family and

friends are welcome to join you.

DATE TOPIC

2 CEO Grand Round – Children’s Day.

Philippa Middleton Baby Bundle Research confirmed.

9 Paediatric Emergency Team – 10 years of service to WCHN.

Speaker: Doris Nash, MET team.

16 Blood Management and Obstetrics.

Speaker: Dr Kym Osborn.

23 Consent Presentation.

Speaker: Crown Solicitor and Julie Paholski.

30 12.30 – 1.30pm

Speakers: Dr Sabrina Kuah and Naomi Dwyer

MS McLeod Research Seminar (2-4pm)

Speaker: Prof Kathryn North

Chair: Jenny Fereday (recommended by Jozef Gecz)

BASECAMP NEWS

E-Book Club August 2017

Getting fit for the future:

community hospitals in a time

of transition. White paper from

Athena Health.

August 2017 direct

Consultation

Comment on the draft version

of the Shared Decision

Making Guidelines for

children, youth and women.

Not a member of Basecamp?

Visit our website to learn how to get involved. Invitations are open to WCHN staff, consumers,

caregivers, family members and community members. To provide feedback to the survey

without signing up to Basecamp click here.

NEVER MISS OUT!

Join Basecamp for real-time access and updates from the Women’s and

Children’s Health Network 24/7.

We want to hear about your hospital experience

Please provide your letterbox feedback by

answering 3 questions at www.wch.sa.gov.au.

Top 10 ways to be positive and kind from a caregiver

perspective

By Jo Balderstone

Developed with assistance from a number of caregivers via Facebook.

1. Ask the carer if there is something that would be helpful for them to know. Beats making

assumptions!

2. Be willing to change or modify something to make the situation easier for the carer.

3. Understand that sometimes caregivers need to cancel something at the last minute, or

leave a function early, or knock back an invitation because of the needs of the person

receiving care. It’s not about you!

4. Appreciate when they come with kids and all their gear, or use their respite hours to attend

your event.

5. Offer practical help. This might be helping with daily tasks such as housework, car

maintenance, gardening, meal preparation, lawn mowing, doing paperwork, running errands

… one-off or regular help, even a working bee. It’s easier to handle things when the house is

clean.

6. Minding children – babysitting to give the carer a break, minding the siblings to enable the

caregiver to do therapy, taking the children out so the caregiver can relax at home.

7. Health professionals – call me by name, not ‘mum’ or ‘dad’.

8. Health and other professionals – provide me with an easy guide to understanding services,

jargon free!

9. App developers – an accessibility app that identifies places which are accessible and what

access is available.

10. Anything that reduces stress for caregivers – from a massage to a support group.

Excellence in Care Matters Consultation

Complete the survey 31 July – 11 August 2017

The Women's and Children's Health Network is seeking

feedback into the Excellence in Care Matters survey from

Monday, 31 July to Friday, 11 August 2017.

We want you to tell us what excellent care at the

Women’s and Children’s Health Network means to you.

The survey will help us identify what elements make up the

concept "excellent care"; what the Women’s and Children’s

Health Network is doing well in terms of delivering excellent care for every person, every time;

what the priorities for improvement should be; and what learning and development needs are

critical to achieving success.

This valuable feedback will help us develop the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Safety

and Quality Framework and Strategy.

An interactive display will be set-up at the Cafe, located in Zone A, floor 2 at the Women's and

Children's Hospital throughout the consultation period, giving staff and consumers an

opportunity to showcase their views and reflect on feedback provided by others if they wish to

do so.

For more information or to complete the survey

online, visit www.wch.sa.gov.au or scan the

QR code with your smartphone or tablet.

CONSUMER GOVERNANCE UPDATES

Youth Advisory Group

With guests internally and externally, 20 members of the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) gathered

on 10 July 2017 to comment on, design and influence decisions within the organisation.

From the April meeting, the YAG was able to close seven previous recommendations, euphoric

that their feedback had directly influenced a new communications campaign in the network to

better identify staff to children and young people. At the April meeting, the YAG recommended

that wards and community sites erect staff directory boards to communicate to young people

and their parents the names of staff (corporate, volunteer and clinical) who are employed at a

site or ward. Over the past three months, members of the YAG and the Person and Family

Centred Care Network have been working with the Consumer and Community Engagement

Unit, Media and Communications Unit and Digital Media to collaborate on a design. The draft

document was endorsed, with the recommendation of some additional colour to make it stand

out from other posters, in the final version.

The YAG was provided key leanings and updates from Kacey and Amelia who represented the

organisation at the 2017 Youth Health Conference (Youth Health Research, Policy and

Practice: Tying it all together) including:

To support young parent rights, to have a round table discussion with relevant stakeholders

to consider current state of affairs relating to stigma and access to care for young parents.

To be raised to the Consumer and Community Partnering Council (CCPC).

To consider how initiatives like Livewire and capturing consumer stories through music for

capacity development can be embedded in the Network. To be raised to the CCPC.

Ensuring that environments are youth friendly, focused and sound; as environments are

places of healing and part of the treatment process.

To have the youth terms of reference written as a one-page document, infographic rather

than a language-burdened document.

The YAG was visited by two staff and South Australia’s Commissioner for Children and Young

People; for three very different consultations. In addition, the YAG consulted on:

the development of a new music program known as HUSH for the organisation run through

Arts in Health

the schedule, plan for Person and Family Centred Care Week, and

the preliminary planning for a health care rights video.

Keryn, a staff member from the Safety and Quality Unit gave an update on the upcoming

Excellence in Care Matters consultation. It is a staged process, with consultation occurring from

31 July – 11 August, with both physical and online locations investigating what excellent care

looks, feels and sounds like. The second phase will be collating the feedback into themes,

which the Youth Advisory Group will have input into, and the themes will form the strategy.

Mark, Nursing Unit Manager, Neurology Clinic, presented to the YAG on what has happened

with their feedback since the April audit. Neurology department has:

Painted the walls

Bought new toys

Reduced visual pollution by decluttering reception spaces

Installed visual distraction (TV) in waiting areas

Developed a small children’s waiting area.

Next steps will be to work with Jelly Bean Street, a company that turns children’s finger

paintings into art work to be displayed as giant stickers. This is to be completed by October

2017, through Arts in Health. In addition, a sticker depicting a neuron will be created, to support

better way-finding to the Neurology Clinic. The YAG will use the October meeting to review the

impact of the changes. One staff member has commented that having the YAG complete the 15

Steps audit means that they feel even more enthused to come to work in a vibrant space; rather

than feeling deflated with a lacklustre environment.

The main consultation featured the new Children’s Commissioner who visited or a second time,

with much fanfare, this time to harvest the great ideas from members. As part of the

Commissioner’s state-wide listening tour, the YAG provided feedback to three important

questions:

What are some of the things that are important to children and young people?

What are some of the things that should change for children and young people?

Because kids are the boss of the Commissioner, what would you have Helen do?

At the meeting, the YAG made four recommendations to the Consumer and Community

Partnering Council including:

1. That further information is sought regarding the current introduction or future roll out of

Livewire programs running through Starlight Children’s Foundation at the Women’s and

Children’s Health Network.

2. That a roundtable (think-tank) is convened to investigate the current work supporting young

parents who access the organisation with a focus on stigma from workers towards young

parents and levels of education provided to staff and the community.

3. That the YAG coordinates a follow up 15 Steps Audit check on 9 October to monitor the

progress of the children’s paintings being installed.

4. That a sub media and communications committee be established on a monthly basis for

some members of the YAG to better triage requests in real-time relating to communication

consultations.

The upcoming October meeting will focus on designing healthcare rights for children and young

people and consulting on a volunteer youth engagement framework for the organisation.

Attendance at the Australian Association for Adolescent Health 2017 National Youth Health Conference

On 6 and 7 July, Kacey and Amelia along

with Allan and Sandy (WCHN Children’s

Entertainment Coordinator) travelled to

Sydney for the bi-annual conference in youth

health. The conference provided an eclectic

combination of national and international

presentations, with a rich and inspiring mix

of research, policy, innovative programs and

services, capturing the theme “youth health,

research, policy and practice: tying it all

together”.

Kacey and Amelia represented the Youth Advisory Group and the organisation presenting a

keynote address titled “Nothing about Youth Health Consumers, without Youth Health

Consumers”. Selected from an expression of interest which attracted six nominees, Kacey and

Amelia spoke with aptitude and maturity to a group of academics, health professionals and

community workers on the importance of the children’s voice in co-design. Echoing article 12 of

the International Charter of Children’s Rights, “Children have the right to a voice”, the

presentation provided tips and tricks for aspiring professionals to effectively engage with

children and youth in developmentally appropriate ways.

Amelia and Kacey brought back key learnings from the international market place, which they

are very keen to establish in the South Australian community.

Congratulations to Amelia and Kacey who shone as bright as diamonds on an international

stage proving that when we TUNE into our children, magic happens.

Kids Klub

44 children aged between 9 and 11 years attended the Women’s and Children’s Kids Klub on

18 July. Children were provided with an opportunity to help the organisation think about

excellence in care, by answering three questions:

What does excellent care look like?

What does excellent care sound like?

What does excellent care feel like?

With much fanfare, laughter and curiosity the children used their experience within the

organisation and borrowed experiences from friends to create a giant “star” collage of feedback.

With hundreds of ideas, captured on post-it notes; the feedback will be provided to the Safety

and Quality Unit as they embark on a wider internal and public engagement exercise, creating a

strategic plan for the organisation.

In addition to collecting the great ideas from the children, Kids Klub is also about teaching, with

all the children completing a tour of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. The children were

provided with their own copy of the WCHN Youth Guide to Places and Spaces and were

encouraged to complete the scavenger hunt on page five.

“I was surprised that the hospital is so big, and did so much.” (9 year old boy)

“The best thing that I learnt on the tour was the hospital is open 24 hours a day with doctors and

nurses always there to help us when we are sick.” (9 year old boy)

“It was really interesting to see three big spaces to eat and places to go and play, like the

Starlight Room. I really liked the colours on the KidSafe wall and knowing there is a place for

religion and prayer.” (10 year old girl).

Kids Klub is a community partnership with Children’s University and the University of Adelaide.

Each school holidays the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Consumer and Community

Engagement Unit works with current consumers, their families or potential consumers in co-

designing and thinking about solutions to some of our current health problems.

CONSUMER ENGAGMENT UPDATES

Research Forum By Lily (Co-Chair, Person and Family Centred Care Network Steering Group) and

Tanya (co-chair WCHN Citizen Jury)

On 8 June 2017, we participated in a Partnership Group Workshop conducted by the National

Collaborative Network for Child Health Informatics. The workshop was one of five held across

Australia and brought together a range of staff and consumers representing local and state

governments, non-government organisations, health and disability services, as well as

education and child protection services.

The primary aim of the day was to identify and scope potential projects to improve equitable

access to health care services and equitable health outcomes for Australian children and young

people. Workshop participants were divided into small groups and assigned a specific “focus

area” to explore, based on their skills, knowledge and experience. There were five focus areas,

as outlined below.

How digital health technology can:

support children and young people to have access to services and support for the best

possible health outcomes

support the adaptation of services to the diversity of health care needs of Aboriginal

children and young people

support vulnerable children and young people to have the best possible health outcomes

support integrated care for children and young people with complex health care needs

support interagency collaboration to help children and young people through times of

transition.

The proposals and initiatives devised during the workshop will be further reviewed and then

submitted to the Australian Digital Health Agency Board in August 2017. They reflect the

participants’ desire for integrated, individualised and holistic health care that addresses the

specific needs of children and young people. The main message from the workshop was that

we have the technology and systems in all the right places, but we don’t know how to get them

to communicate with each other to share information. This would make access to the right

services easy and transition between services smoother for consumers. Funding was also

something that really stood out to us as a barrier for services to be able to support consumers in

the best way possible.

As consumers, it was very encouraging to witness the enthusiasm, creativity and innovative

thinking evident among the workshop participants. Our contributions to the discussions were

respected and valued. It was wonderful to be included in such a lively and productive day.

Consumer Surveyors

In July we welcomed three new consumer surveyors to the team; Talia, Robyn and Susanne.

Every Thursday between 11am and 1pm, our new surveyors support children, young people,

carers and parents to complete the consumer feedback letterbox or digital letterbox forms.

The feedback provided is themed against the Person and Family Centred Care Charter and is

building both a qualitative and quantitative picture of consumers’ experience in care.

When working with children and

young people ‒ an often hard-to-

reach group to gather feedback

from ‒ our consumer surveyors take

their time and use soft-entry points

to build quick rapport. Some

approaches include chatting about

topics other than health or illness,

co-regulating through drawing or

playing a game of “I spy” or “20

questions”.

In the first 30 days more than 180

new forms were completed by hard-

to-reach population groups. Well done.

Consumer Training Yarrow Place

Over three sessions from June to September, WCHN consumer representatives are using their

stories to aid WCHN staff and health professionals in the wider community understand the

impact of violence and assault when working with clients who have experienced developmental

trauma.

The training is designed for workers in all areas of human services, child protection and health

care. Underpinned by person and family centred care principles, it focuses on providing

knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to provide appropriate trauma informed responses to

adolescents who have been raped, sexually assaulted or experienced other forms of violence.

Consumer stories and a consumer Q&A panel are features of the training. Consumers are using

their stories to promote the importance of health care and human rights and to translate

literature into real-world scenarios in a powerful manner, all of which promotes consumer self-

determination.

On 30 June, consumers were also invited to participate in training of Police cadets. Yarrow

Place has a long-standing relationship with SAPOL and training enables cadets to develop their

understanding and values related to sexual violence before they go out into the community as

probationary constables. The training assists cadets to challenge myth-based assumptions, the

impact of sexual violence and to recognise and respond confidently to sexual assault survivors.

Involving consumers in the training served a dual purpose. It was an avenue for them to share

their own experiences and stories, help others and to continue the process of healing and

moving on from trauma. For the cadets, it was an opportunity to deepen their understanding and

compassion and to learn from an individual with lived experience.

Quotes from participants:

“Having (name withheld) come in and give first-hand experience was a fantastic opportunity

to hear. Really put everything we learn into perspective.”

“Hearing the story of a victim and how they have overcome the trauma.”

“(Name withheld)’s talk was amazing and (I) benefitted a lot from it. I think her story told at

schools would be great.”

Well done to the Yarrow Place and Metropolitan Youth Health team for co-designing the training

and working in partnership with WCHN consumers.

Celebrating NAIDOC

National NAIDOC Week is an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history,

culture and achievements. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander people make to our society. Award ceremonies, in recognition of

significant contributions, are held across the country, at National, State and regional level.

It is also a time for people to come together and celebrate the survival of the world’s oldest living

culture. The 2017 National NAIDOC theme was: Our Languages Matter, placing emphasis on

the importance, resilience and uniqueness of Australia’s 250 plus Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander languages. (See more at: https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/indigenous-australian-

languages).

To celebrate NAIDOC week, the WCHN held a number of events and WCHN staff also

participated in a range of community based activities, culminating in the NAIDOC March and

Family Fun Day in Victoria Square on Friday 7 July.

NAIDOC March

WCHN Staff at NAIDOC Family Fun Day

Many of WCHN’s Aboriginal staff and consumers participated in the March while others braved

the rain and cold to volunteer their time at the WCHN promotional stall in Victoria Square, or

Tarntanyangga as it is known in the Kaurna language.

The Family Fun day is a wonderful opportunity to promote WCHN services to, and capture

feedback from Aboriginal families in a culturally safe way. This year, Child and Family Health

Service (CaFHS) staff worked particularly hard to provide free packs of books to families with

young children and, in return, captured feedback regarding what Aboriginal families value.

The NAIDOC Grand Round was presented by Trevor Ritchie who spoke to the theme; ‘Our

Languages Matter’. Trevor is a young Kaurna man and member of the WCHN Consumer and

Community Partnership Council. He spoke about the importance of Aboriginal language, in

particular the Kaurna language, and the connections to culture, community, place and identity.

WCHN staff have also participated in Kaurna Cultural Tours of the Adelaide CBD guided by

Uncle Frank Wanganeen, a Kaurna Elder and passionate cultural educator. Uncle Frank

shared knowledge of the early history of Adelaide and significance of places to the Kaurna

people, including Kaurna names. More information about Kaurna place names can be found on

the Adelaide City website: http://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/your-community/culture-

history/kaurna/

WCHN Staff out and about with Uncle Frank Wanganeen

WCHN Service Excellence Awards

Over the last 30 days WCHN staff, consumer representatives and volunteers have been

reflecting on 12 months’ worth of innovation and translation of this innovation in the many

nominations received for the 2017 WCHN Service Excellence Awards. The awards recognise

excellence in the provision of person and family centred care practice across 11 categories:

Excellence in healthcare

Enhancing hospital care

Building and strengthening partnerships

Excellence in non-clinical services

Excellence in safety and quality

Partnering with consumers, carers and our community

Translation research

Living our values

Excellence in teaching and learning

Taikurendi – together in partnership

Young professional

With more than 50 nominations, it was the job of an independent judging panel, including Lily

from the Person and Family Centred Care Network Steering Group and Tahlia from the Youth

Advisory Group, to whittle them down to 11 winners.

The awards night will be on 11 August at the Adelaide Oval from 6pm. If you are interested in

attending, tickets are $25 and all consumer representatives are welcome. Contact Allan for

further details.

Great Wall of Gratitude

Earlier in 2017, the

Person and Family

Centred Care

Network Steering

Group launched

the Great Wall of

Gratitude, a quick

and visible way of

giving a “high-five”

to exceptional

customer service

or healthcare

provision.

This is a selection

of some of the

expressions of

appreciation from

our consumers to

staff in our

Community Health teams.

If you are a team within the organisation that wants a Great Wall of Gratitude

A3 Board or if you are a consumer and believe your local service needs a

board contact Allan to have this arranged.

Friends Passion Project Updates

Thanks to Friends WCH Inc. for their commitment to person and family centered care.

WABS: Birthing Stories

The Birthing Stories pilot project is well

under way. We are pretty much in

established labour now and so excited that

our baby is on its way.

Our first full-day session on Sunday, 2 July

was a fabulous affair, full of fascinating

discussion, nourishing food and art

production. Heather Dunnachie and Allan

Ball were joined by seven WCHN mothers

to explore the genre of birth stories,

individual experiences and the meaning of

birth for women. The second full day

occurred on Sunday, 16 July.

We started the morning with a relaxation

and mindfulness exercise led by Heather

(pictured). This was then followed by

'quick-fire journaling' exercises, discussion

and further 'gold mining' writing tasks.

Throughout each activity, participants

bravely shared their thoughts, feelings and

emotions with the group.

With bellies full of tomato and lentil dahl,

bliss balls and raw chocolate, our post-

lunch task was to prepare for 'vox pop'

recordings and to explore various aspects

of the birth experience through visual art.

It was an intense, action-packed day which ‒ we all agreed ‒ demonstrated well the profound

and deep impact birth experiences have upon women's identities as mothers, connections with

others and the way they see themselves in the world. By holding a space in which women could

share their stories, not only did we gather feedback and ideas which will be of practical use for

WCHN, but we also offered women an important opportunity to stop and reflect upon their

amazing achievements as mothers.

All are welcome to attend our official launch party on Wednesday,

9 August, 2-3pm at WCHN. Please email Tessa your RSVP by

Friday, 4 August for catering purposes.

Consumer rewind: A spotlight over the past 31 days Consumer and Community Engagement

Amelia and Kacey presented at the Australian Association for Adolescent Health

2017 National Youth Health Conference on behalf of WCHN.

Youth Advisory Group met for their quarterly meeting with consultations that involved the

South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People.

44 children engaged for the quarterly Kids Klub.

The organisation celebrated NAIDOC Week through a range of activities including a

community engagement display at Victoria Square on 7 July.

24 hours of consumer surveying occurred over a four-day period by three trained

consumer surveyors.

Tara and Sharon hosted a Roving Consumer Coffee Club and Consumer Coffee

Club attracting its biggest crowds to date ‒ 30 caregivers and young people.

Tahlia and Lily attended the WCHN Service Excellence Awards judging.

Trauma, Child Adolescent Mental Health Services and Surgical teams attended a School

Ambassador Program for 66 year 7 students at East Para Primary School. The focus of

the engagement was promotion of helmet safety and engaging students to comment on what

excellent care looks, sounds and feels like.

Consumer stories on what excellent care looks, sounds and feels like were displayed in

Gallery ‘B’ at the WCH as part of a public promotion campaign raising awareness of the

Network’s approach to excellent care.

Volunteer Strategy moved to editing and approval stages, and throughout July consultation

occurred on the look and feel for a launch of the strategy.

Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) hosted its second consumer advisory

meeting on 31 July with Tara appointed as consumer co-chair alongside the Director,

CaFHS.

Education, Training and Development

On 14 July, consumer representatives joined Allan to participate in an international

webinar which helped to recognise the importance of partnering with consumer and families

in research, identifying engagement strategies and tactics that create and sustain effective

research partnerships and reviewing tools to engage effectively with consumers in research.

Person and Family Centered Care Charter was conveyed and discussed as part of

corporate orientation for new staff to the Network.

Tanya and Lil attended a two-day forum titled “Health Roundtable Showcase”.

Safety and Quality

70 intensive interviews were conducted by Sharon and Tiffany as part of the Listening Post

week within Surgical Services.

Risk 2291 “consumer and community engagement in real-time”, which looks at the

treatments and controls to ensure that when engagement happens it happens effectively,

was reviewed.

Safety and Quality strategic planning began on Monday 31 July with Penny, the co-

chair of the Consumer and Community Partnering Council, attending the first day of the

Excellence in Care Matters consultation in the Café on Level 2 of the WCH.

Healthy Focus Winter 2017 edition out now

The Winter 2017 edition of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network’s Healthy Focus

magazine is now available at www.wch.sa.gov.au.

For more information

Consumer and Community Engagement Unit

Women’s and Children’s Health Network

72 King William Road

North Adelaide SA 5006

Telephone: 8161 6935

Email: Allan.Ball@sa.gov.au

www.wch.sa.gov.au

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All information was accurate at the time of printing, dates and times may vary.